I am now certain that Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love that its just about...fun and friends and letting your freak-flag fly. There is little weighty tradition and zero family expectations around the day. You do your usual school/work/etc... and don't have an entire day to try to make special. It does not involve hours in the kitchen to make a meal half of your family will not enjoy.
We went ALL IN this year. We decorated the outside of our house with spider webs and bats hanging from the tree, and strings of bat-shaped lights. We all dressed up in completely non-complementary costumes of our choosing (L: Lloyd the green Ninajgo ninja, B: a runner, me: Wonder Woman, and G: Obi-Wan). The boys and I dressed in our costumes for the neighborhood run (5K for me, 1 mile for the boys), and we ROCKED it and had a blast (I finished at an 8:30 pace which amazed me because I hadn't run in months, and the boys both finished which amazed me because they've never run a mile before). G didn't run but volunteered as a marshal so it was a family affair. We topped off the run with games and candy at the school yard and then carved pumpkins at home.
Yesterday we left work a little early to get the boys who had already enjoyed fun at school and aftercare (treats, movie, a parade in the school yard, costume karate with candy for good performance) and got ready for trick or treating. I think I've written about this before but Halloween in our neighborhood is so much fun! Everyone is hanging out on stoops, drinking and giving out candy and we ran into so many friends and neighbors. There are also some impressive decorating displays on certain well-known streets. We were out early and kept going until the boys filled up their pumpkins with candy and then settled in at a friends' for beer/pizza/snacks while the kids burned off some energy. I didn't even have to make dinner. I didn't have any candy but I had 2 beers so I guess that is treat enough for a Tuesday night.
And now its November. We will make our way through the candy in small near-daily doses. And, surprise!, you will also start seeing me here in small near-daily doses as I plan to post 30 times in November (mostly daily but sometimes I'll double up if I need a day off).
I love Halloween, too. I’m not great at decorating, but I love being outside talking to my neighbors and running into friends. I love the casual socializing. Like, instead of setting up a play date, I got a text that said “hey, we’re on your street. Where are you?” And I answered “two streets over, we’ll head back toward you.” I also feel like there’s less politics than on other holidays, which makes it easier to just enjoy it.
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